Laundering machine



June 28, 1932. F. M; KING 1,864,738.

LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21. 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet l TZZTZ L71 June 28, 1932. F. M. KING 1,854,738

'LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z02 72656 .35! Frank %%;g I

June 28, 1932. F. M. KING 1,864,738

LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21, 192 8 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 28, 1932. F. M. KING LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 28, 1932.

F. M. KING LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 17? 2/671 for: F5312; J. [(L'? Zzfzzness.

June 28, 1932. F. M. KING 1,364,738

LAUNDERING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 I f U' Z M7156" FY37 2 RJ Z Patented June 28, 1932 res FRANK M. KING, 01 OAK PARK,'ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JACQUE C. MORRELL, OF RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS, AND ONE-THIRD TO EDWARD HALTER, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS LAUNDERING MACHINE Application filed' March 21, 1928. Serial No. 263,411;

The present invention relates to laundering machinery, and refers more particularly to a novel type of clothes washer especially adapted for use in commercial laundries.

5 It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes washer for use in commercial laundries possessing certain features of novelty and utility over those known to the prior art. I

A clothes washer which is in extensive general use at the present time in commercial laundries, comprises a horizontally disposed elongated cylindrical stationary housing containing within it a similarly shaped, though smaller, rotatable perforated drum adapted to contain the fabrics to be washed.

This drum is generally divided both longitudinally and laterally into compartments to separate the various lots of fabrics.- The housing is adapted to contain water through which the perforated drum is rotated. The latter is rotated in one direction for a predetermined number of rotations and thereafter its direction of rotation is periodically reversed to avoid tangling the fabrics within the compartments.

The above described type of washer has a number of disadvantages, the most salient of which are the large amount of floor space so required for each washer; the great amount of power required to periodically reverse the direction of rotation of the single large rotatable drum; the necessity of removal of the clothes by hand from the perforated drum; limited capacity; the time required to clean the clothes and to dismantle and assemble the machine for purposes of repair, and the limited amount of surface through which the water passes into the clothes.

The machine of the present invention, briefly described, comprises a housing containing a plurality of relatively small, separated perforated drums, each adapted to receive an individual lot or lots of fabrics to be washed, mounted upon a movable conveying mechanism whereby the drums are conveyed in a defined path substantially within the housing, being dipped into a body of water and/or subjected to a spray or a series of streams of the same, means being provided to cause at the same time the independent individual rotation of the said perforated drums. v

Among objects of the present invention are to provide a machine which is very efiicient in use; to provide a machine which will re-' and conveniently removed; to provide a machine having an increased capacity with a decrease 1n power consumption per unit weight of clothes being washed; to provide a machine utilizing a more efficient drive, and to provide a machine designed to wash clothes quickly by providing maximum surface and drainage whereby a large volume of water will freely enter and discharge, distinguishing from the devices having one large drum provided with openings in its peripheral surface, wherein clothes positioned in the center. thereof will be at a considerable distance from the said openings, and the circulation of water "in that portion of the wash will be practically nil.

Many other important objects and advantages of the present invention will be more particularly apparent from the following detailed description.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the machine of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on lines 33 of Figs} and 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the positioning of one of the bearings for the rotatable drums.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the conveyor chain showing one method of attaching the rotatable drums thereto.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the same.

Fig. 8" is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified form of the same.

Fig. 9 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, of a modified form of the machine.

Fig. 10- isa fragmentary elevational view of a modified form of rack for rotating the drums in the modified form of machine illustrated in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing another modified form of construction of the machine of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view of certain of the parts of the modified form of machine taken on line 1212'o'f Fig. 13.

F 13 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssectional view of certain of the parts of the modified form of machine taken on line 13-13 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a perspective View of one of the plates used in the modified form of constri-iction shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 15 is perspective view of one of the discs used in the modified form of construction shown in Fig. 11.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, 1 designates a suitable housing, preferably constructed of metal, having suitable supporting members 2, an opening 3 adapted to be closed by a door 4 which may be slidably mounted, by means of the grooved members 5-, on the housing 1, and a; drain-p ipe 6, con trolled by a suitable valve 7. A pivoted hook-latch 8, adapted to engage a lug or boss 9 on the door 4 may be provided to maintain the door 4 ina raised position. Brackets 10 may be mounted externally upon opposite walls of the housing 1 to support stub shafts 11 and 12, the latter having secured to them collars 13 functioning to keep said shafts in proper alignment. Sprocket wheels 14, adapted to engage conveyor chains 15, may be keyed, or. otherwise mounted, upon the shafts 11 and 12.

One or more drums 16, provided with perforations 17, may each be keyed, or otherwise attached, to a shaft 18, journaled in the hangers 19 fastened to the conveyor chains 15 (Figs. 6, 7 and 9). Each shaft 18 may have one or more pinion gears 20 keyed, or otherwise attached thereto, adapted to mesh with teeth onouter and inner racks 21 and 22. Inner and outer guides 23 and 24 may be provided and spaced from each. other to form a continuous groove 25 in which the ball bearing assembly 26 carried upon shafts 18 will move, whereby the gears 20 will be maintained in constant, frictionless mesh with the racks 21 and 22. The purpose of using a bearing 26, particularly one of the roller type, is to transfer to the bearing the weight which would normally be placed on those teeth of the pinion actually in mesh with the rack at any one time, while at the same time decreasing or eleminating friction between the pinions and the rack. The racks are preferably disposed at a slight sloping angle from the vertical to decrease, as far as possible, friction and dead weight pull, the drums being spaced from each other in such manner that the drums moving downwardly act as a weight or force to balance the upward pull of the upwardly moving drums, thus materially decreasing the power consumption per unit weight of clothes being washed.

The grooves 25 may be slightly wider than the ball bearing assembly 26 in order that only one side of the groove 25 will contact the ball bearing assembly at any one time, thus permitting the latter to roll freely without friction along-the edge of either guide. It will be noted that the outer rack 21 will cause the drums 16, as they are carried by the conveyor chain 15, to turn in a direction opposite to that of the inner rack 22. Thus, as will be more apparent from Fig. 4, when the sprockets 14 are rotated, the conveyor chains 15 are moved, the latter in turn carrying with them the drums 16. The drums 16 whose pinion gears 20 are meshing with the rack 21 will turn in a direction opposite to those drums 16 whose pinion gears 20 are meshing with the rack 22. Thus, while the conveyor chain 15 moves continuously in the same direction the direction of rotation of the drums 16 will be periodically automatically reversed to prevent tangling of the clothes.

A suitable source of power, for instance, an electric motor 27, may be mounted on a base 28, and may be adapted to drive a shaft 29 which in turn may have keyed, or otherwise attached to it, a worm 30 adapted to mesh with a worm gear 31, the latter being in turn keyed, or otherwise attached, to the shaft 11. friction clutch 32, controlled by a hand operated lever 33, connected thereto by means of a yoke 34, may be interposed on the shaft 29, whereby the motor 27 may be engaged with, and. disengaged from, the gears 30 and 31 by proper manipulation of the hand operated lever 33. A sprocket wheel 35 may be keyed to the shaft 29 intermediate motor 27 and clutch 32, meshing with a chain 36, the latter in turn meshing with a sprocket wheel 37 keyed to shaft 38. The shaft 38 may be connected to a conventional type pump 40, having an intake pipe 41 connectedto the lower portion of the housing 1, and a discharge pipe 42 connected with a series of perforated pipes 43 mounted within the housing 1. A clutch 44, controlled by a hand operable lever 45, connected thereto by means of a yoke 46, may be keyed to the shaft 38 whereby the pump 40 may be engaged and disengaged as desired.

A screen 47 may be mounted in the lower portion of the housing 1 to prevent buttons, articles of clothing and other foreign matter from passing down the drain-pipe 6. This screen 47 may be preferably spaced from the bottom of the housing 1 to provide a quiet, undisturbed pocket or body of Water therebelow wherein particles of dirt may settle while the machine is in operation.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate a modified form of the present invention. Instead of pro viding an inner rack 22 and an outer rack 21 to cause the drumsto reverse their direction of rotation, a continuous rack 48 (Fig. 10) may be provided and the movement of the sprockets 14 and conveyor chain 15 may be periodically reversed to cause the rotation of the drums 16 to be reversed. This periodic reversal of the rotation of the drums 16 is necessary to prevent the fabrics within the drums from tangling or balling together.

Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 illustrate another modification of the device of the present invention showing the assembly for conveying and rotating the drums 16 positioned outside of the housing 1. The assembly referred to may comprise the conveyors 15, the racks 21 and 22, pinion gears 20, and the guide members 23 and 24, the latter being preferably secured to the housing 1, on the outside thereof, as shown in Fig. 11. Thus, the groove 25 (Fig. 11) may comprise a continuous slot through which the shafts 18, which support the drums 16, must pass.

To prevent the escape of the water being sprayed within the housing 1, through the groove or slot 25 (Fig. 11), a flexible shield 54 may be provided adapted to have sliding engagement with the sides of the guides 23 and 24. This flexible shield 54 may (as will be more apparent from Figs. 12 and 13) comprise an alternate series of plates 55 and discs 56, each being grooved as indicated at 57 and 58, respectively (Figs. 14 and 15) whereby the said plates 55 and discs 56 may be assem= bled in connected overlapping manner, as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13. The shafts 18 may be journalled in the heretofore described ball bearings 26, the latter being fitted in the groove 25 and having rolling engagement with the edges of the guides 23 and 24. The discs 56 may be fitted over the shaft 18. A spring 60 may be mounted in an extension 61 of the drum 16, being adapted to bear against the discs 56 inside the houring 1 which are fitted over the shaft 18, whereby the discsare normally maintained in contact with the sides of the guides 23 and 24. A similar spring (not shown) may be interposed, if desired, between the piniongear 20 and the discs 56 mounted on the shaft .16

which are outside of the housing 1, whereby the said discs 56 may be maintained in con passed through the holes 63 in the said plates 55, having threaded engagement with the rollers 64', the latter being adapted to have engagement with the groove 25 formed by the guides 23 and 24. The discs 56, which are not mounted on the shafts 18, may also engage the plates 55 in an overlapping relationship and may be fastened together by means of screws 65, which screws 65 are passed through the holes 68, said screws 65 having threaded engagement with the inner race of ball bearings 67, the latter being adaptedto roll in the groove 25 in a manner similar to the bearing 26.

In the operation of the machine, a suit able quantity of water may be put into the housing 1 to a level substantially above the intake pipe 41 of the pump 40. The door 4 is moved upwardly in the manner shown in Fig. 1 uncovering the opening 3 in the housing 1. The clutches 32 and 44 may be disengaged and the electric motor 27 started in operation. The clutch 32 may be lightly engaged, causing the drum conveying mechanism to function, until one of the drums 16 moves into a position adjacent the opening 3 with its opening 48 substantially facing u ward. The cover 49 is moved to uncover the opening 48 and the fabrics to be washed are placed within the drum. The cover 49 is then restored to its former position to close the opening 48. The foregoing operation is repeated until all the drums'16 have fabrics placed in them. The door 4 is then closed and the clutch 32 firmly engaged to cause the shaft 11 and the sprockets 14 to revolve,

driving the conveyor chains 15. The drums 16, being carried by the conveyor chains 15, revolve first in one direction and then in the opposite direction as often as their piniongears 20 change their engagement from the rack 21 to the rack 22, and vice versa. The clutch 44 is also engaged to cause'the pump 40 to draw a supply of the water through the intake pipe 41 and discharge it into the pipe 42, connected to the perforated pipes 43, whereby a continuous spray .of water is played upon the drums 16. As the drums 16 reach the lower end of the endless conveyor chain 15, they are partly or wholly immersed in the body of water maintained in the lower portion of the housing 1 to cause the contents of the drums 16 to be thoroughly saturated with the water. As the drums 16 revolve, the fabrics within them tumble from one portion of the drum to another. The impact of the tumbling in conjunction with the friction imposed by one piece'of fabric rub bing or moving over another causes the lat- 4 ter to be thoroughly washed.

drive for the conveying mechanism, the door 4: is opened. A chute 5O pivotally attached to hangers 51, which in turn may be pivotah ly fastened to the housing 1, is moved into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, being retained in such position by means of a lug 52 adapted to engage the lower edge of the opening 3. The clutch 32 is lightly engaged until one of the drums 16 moves into a position directly above the chute 50, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2, the open l8 facing downwardly, after which the clutch is again disengaged. The cover l9 may then be opened and the contents of the drum 10 will fall by gravity upon the chute 50, which in turn will deliver them to the conveyor 53 upon which they may be transferred to any desirable point.

The device may operate with any number of drums from one to twenty, more or less. Each drum may be provided with one or more transverse indentations 16, providing internal shoulders functioning toretain the clothes for a short distance in the upward travel of the drum, whereby the clothes reach a height from which they drop with considerable force, which is, of course, desirable. The drums may take any desired shape and may be of any desired size.

It will be apparent that T have perfected a machine that is readily accessible for operation, repair or replacement. Should one of the d ums 16 become out of order, it is a comparatively simple matter to remove it fron the machine and put another quickly into its place, or that drum may be removed and the machine may be temporarily operated without it. This operation should not take over an hour. The disengagement of a drum 16 may be expedited by the use of the type of hanger 19 illustrated in Fig. 8.

The machine of the present invention may preferably be of a vertical type of construction to utilize all the available space above the floor. A minimum amount of power is required to operate the machine of the present invention, since not more than two of the drums 16 will have their direction of rotation reversed at the same time, while in machines of the prior art, the single large perforated drum requires a great amount of power each time its direction of rotation is reversed. Also, by the type of construction of my machine it is possible to utilize the efficient worm gear type of drive.

In addition more surface will be available for contact between the clothes and the'water. Since the water passes entirely through the drum entering on one side and discharging on the opposite side, the clothes will be washed very quickly. This is of material advantage as compared with a type of washer in which the drum is partitioned longitudinally and laterally into compartments, whereby the water passes into the compartment and out through the same point at which it enters.

It is to be understood that any type of conveyor may be used to convey the drums 16. Also the opening 3 may be raised to a higher position to permit the housing 1 to be filled with water to a higher level.

It may be found desirable to space the ends of the racks 21 and 22 further apart than the proportion illustrated in Fig. a, in order to permit the drums 16 to cease, or practically cease, turning before the gears 20 engage the other rack, thus preventing any undue strain on the mechanism.

The operation of the device illustrated in Figs. 11 to 15 is as follows: As the shafts 18 are carried by the conveyors 15, they are kept in substantially unvarying, spaced relationship. Thus, the flexible shields 54, formed by the overlapping plates 55 and discs 56 will move as a unit, having constant engagement with both sides of the guides s3 and 24, whereby the groove or slot 25 is closed, thus substantially preventing the escape of water from the housing 1.

It is to be understood that the plates 55 and discs 56 are sufiiciently overlapped to allow for any ordinary slack or looseness in the conveyors 15 to prevent their becoming disengaged from each other.

The following methods of operation, among others, are possible and are contemplated to be carried out in the present machine:

Opcmtz'oa 0ne.A stationary body of water with no recirculation with the drums passing therethrough. Tn this operation the lever 1-5 which functions the clutch 44 and water pump 40 is not manipulated, and therefore, no water is forced into he perforated pipes 48.

Operation, tw0.Operat-ion two may be carried out with a positive circulation of water through the medium of the water pump 10.

It is to be understood that the machine described, may be positioned and operated in a horizontal direction, but the preferred posi tion and mode of operation is in a vertical or upwardly and downwardly direction I claim as my invention:

1. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, a plurality of drums movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums within said housing, means for rotating the drums during their movement in the housing,

with a housing adapted to receive water, a

perforated drum movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drum is mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drum within said housing, and means within the housing and outside the drum for spraying water upon the drum.

3. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, a perforated drum movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drum is mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drum within said housing, means for rotating the drum during its movement in the housing, and means within the housing for spraying water upon the drum.

4. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, a plurality of drums movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor 011 which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums within said housing, means for rotating the drums during their movement in-the' housing, means for periodically reversing the direction of rotation of but two drums at one time, and means within the housing for spraying water upon the rotating drums.

5. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, a drum movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drum is mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drum within said housing, and means for rotating the drums during their movement in the housing, comprising a shaft carried by said drum, a pinion gear carried by said shaft, and a plurality of curved racks adjacent the path of travel of the drum with which said pinion gear meshes.

6. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, a plurality of drums movable in an endless path in said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums within said housing, means for rotating the drums during their movements in the housing, comprising a shaft carried by each of the drums, a pinion gear carried by said shaft, and a curved rack adjacent the path of travel of the drums with'which said pinion gears mesh, and means for guiding the path of travel of said drums comprising inner and outer elements spaced from each other to de fine a curved slot therebetween in which the shafts on which the pinion gears are mounted are guided. V

7. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, of a plurality of'separate spaced-apart drums mounted for upward and downward movementwithin said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums upwardly and downwardly w1th1n the housing, and means for rotating each drum, and

reversing the rotation of the same at its uppermost and lowermost posit-ion of travel on the conveyor.

8. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, of a plurality of separate spaced-apart drums mounted for upward and downward movement within said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums upwardly and downwardly within the housing, means for rotating each drum comprising a shaft carried by each drum, a pinion gear keyed to said shaft and a rack disposed adjacent the path of travel of said drums with which said pinion gears are adapted to mesh, and means for periodically reversing the direction of rotation of the drums, comprising two separate curved racks. one having teeth on its outer surface and the other having teeth on its inner surface, the beginning of the teeth of one rack being disposed adjacent the termination of the teeth on the other, the junctures of the two racks occurring at the curved portions of the same.

9. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, of a plurality of separate spaced-apart drums mounted for upward and downward movement within said housing, a movable conveyor on which said drums are mounted, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums upwardly and downwardly within the housing, means for rotating each drum comprising a shaft carried by each drum, a pinion gear keyed to said shaft and a rack disposed adjacent the path of travel of said drums with which said pinion gears are adapted to mesh, and means for periodically reversing the direction of rotation of the drums, comprising two separate curved racks, one having teeth on its outer surface and the other ha ving teeth on its inner surface, the beginning of the teeth of one rack being disposed adjacent the termination of the teeth on the other, the two racks together forming an oval, the major axis of which is disposed at a slightly sloping angle from the vertical.

10. In a clothes washer, the combination with a housing adapted to receive water, of a plurality of separate spaced-apart perforated drums mounted for upward and downward movement in an endless path within said housing, a movable conveyor on which LSO said drums are mounted, disposed for movement in a plane disposed at a slightly sloping angle from the vertical, means for driving said conveyor to move said drums upwardly and downwardly Within the housing, means for rotating each drum and reversing said rotation at extreme positions upon the conveyor.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANK M. KING. 

